[sclug] Keeping track of source installations

[Alex Butcher]

On Wed, 5 May 2004 erik.chakravarty at accenture.com wrote:

> For you DEBIAN_FANS out there... (I hope somebody gets that joke)
> 
> You know when you just can't find the right version of a deb package, so
> you go to download and compile the source. It all compiles fine with no
> dependency problems (for once!) BUT
> 
> "make install" throws binaries and libraries all over your filesystem
> with no way of cleaning everything up again in 6 months time. Is there a
> convenient way of keeping track of what non-debianized packages you have
> installed?

I'd imagine most folks would say "don't install from source - build your own
.debs and install those".

Alternatively, you have toolks such as checkinstall
<http://asic-linux.com.mx/~izto/checkinstall/> (which can create (very)
rough n' ready RPMs, .debs, and Slackware .tgzs) and GNU Stow.

Ultimately, though, the only assured way of avoiding problems is to build
your own packages using the distro's native tools.

> Cheers
> Erik

Best Regards,
Alex.
-- 
Alex Butcher      Brainbench MVP for Internet Security: www.brainbench.com
Bristol, UK                      Need reliable and secure network systems?
PGP/GnuPG ID:0x271fd950                         <http://www.assursys.com/>